Bamf! Hack! Teleportation and Opportunity Attacks in 13th Age

Teleportation is an effect by which a creature moves instantaneously from one location to another. As a rule, teleportation in 13th Age doesn’t draw opportunity attacks; but some spells that create teleport effects do draw opportunity attacks against the caster.

A teleport effect in itself doesn’t trigger opportunity attacks from enemies who are engaged with the teleporting creature before or after the movement. As a rule, abilities that allow teleportation don’t draw opportunity attacks—the high elf’s highblood teleport, for example, disregards the presence of engaged enemies. When a spell like blink or touch of evil allows the target of the spell to teleport as a temporary ability, using the ability doesn’t draw opportunity attacks. The same goes for teleport effects forced upon enemies.

On the other hand, many teleport effects occur as a result of a spell being cast. Spellcasting rules don’t change because you are casting a teleport spell. If you cast a ranged spell that draws opportunity attacks and it also happens to have a teleport effect, you will take opportunity attacks from enemies engaged with you when you cast the spell. Note that it is the spellcasting that draws the opportunity attack, not the teleport effect.

For example, the Queen’s shadows is a ranged sorcerer spell that offers a chance of teleporting. If you cast the spell while engaged with an enemy, you draw an opportunity attack from that enemy. Moving using the teleport effect if you hit with a natural even attack roll, however, doesn’t draw an attack itself. So if you’re smart, you’ll teleport somewhere you can’t be engaged easily, allowing you to use the spell again without taking opportunity attacks.

Similarly, you could use a teleport effect on an ally who is engaged with enemies and your ally won’t draw opportunity attacks when they blip away.